Patrick Starrr shares how late nights making YouTube videos led to him owning a cosmetics company

• Patrick Starrr is a beauty YouTuber with more than 4 million subscribers.
• He also recently launched One/Size, an inclusive beauty brand, online and in Sephora stores.
• As part of Insider's "Beauty Files" series, Starrr told us it had been "surreal" to see his products in stores, and he explained the meaning behind his catchphrase "makeup is a one size fits all."
• Starrr also listed Coty Airspun powder as one of his favorite products and reflected on late nights spent editing YouTube videos with the YouTuber Manny MUA at the start of their careers.

Patrick Starrr is having a whirlwind summer.

In July, the makeup mogul launched his inclusive beauty brand One/Size online and at Sephora stores. He also documented the process of launching his company for his YouTube channel and starred in a music video for a song about his products and brand.

To learn more about the YouTuber's journey, Insider spoke with Starrr as part of Insider's series "Beauty Files," which takes readers beyond the beauty world they see online. During our conversation, Starrr shared his favorite products, biggest beauty regret, makeup memories, and more.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Patrick Starrr talks about his beauty brand and promoting self-love

Amanda Krause: You've just launched a cosmetics company. How does it feel to finally see your products in stores?

Patrick Starrr: It is extremely surreal. I have yet to experience one year of being a founder, so I feel like I'm growing into that. I feel like there's these big-girl shoes that I'm stepping into but haven't filled out yet, so I'm excited to see where it goes.

Krause: Your brand's slogan and your personal motto is "makeup is a one size fits all." What does that mean to you?

Starrr: I think it promotes love, self-love, and love for others. Early on in my career, I was trying to find my niche, and I was so hard on myself that I couldn't find one. But that misunderstanding turned into an understanding that beauty is for everybody.

Starrr said he once hid his passion for makeup from the world

Krause: You released a music video to promote your brand, and it has a really strong opening scene where you reenact a moment where you were asked to remove your makeup. If you think back further, what are some of your earliest beauty memories?

Starrr: I remember through my adolescence, acne was a big thing. Also going in the sun — I was in marching band in high school — and growing up as a Florida child, my uneven skin tone was an insecurity.

I remember going into my mom's drawer in her bathroom and finding this whipped CoverGirl foundation and putting it on. It was way too deep for me, but the even skin tone was what intrigued me.

I did that in my room with my door locked, taking selfies in front of my window. It was so hidden for me at the time — I think I was 15 or 16 years old.

Krause: It's a totally different world now.

Starrr: It was just so taboo to do that, but now we're seeing boys that are 9, 10, 11 years old TikToking and putting on lashes and having nails — and it's like, was I a part of this movement? No, it couldn't have been me. Must have been somebody else. But it's imposter syndrome.

Krause: Do you have any big beauty regrets?

Starrr: I grew up in Orlando, so I was an avid attendee of Pulse nightclub and Parliament House. I have this picture of me from that time where I have neon makeup — which I did in my car – a beanie, a neon shirt from Forever 21, and a vest. It was that 2000s boy-band era, but I was trying to make it cool with makeup.

Krause: Neon had such a moment.

Starrr: I was trying to find my aesthetic, but that is one of my ultimate regrets. My friends from that time always bring it up.

Krause: Do you have a favorite beauty product of all time?

Starrr: My Coty Airspun powder is tried and true. She's been with me through thick and thin. It's so funny — that powder is what catapulted my notoriety early on because I would bake too much, but if you think about it, I grew up in Florida. I was sweaty — I'm oily. But that powder and baking in general has been in my veins for so long.

Krause: What are the least expensive and most expensive parts of your beauty routine?

Starrr: The least expensive is the Airspun powder — I get it between $5 and $8. My most expensive is my Lancôme foundation or my $85 Tatcha eye cream. I invest more in skin prep, but with makeup I love everything.

Starrr reflects on his YouTube career and working with Manny MUA

Krause: Looking back at your YouTube journey, how has the platform changed since you started in 2013?

Starrr: The population. It's such a wide, global network now of people who aspire to be seen and heard. It's so diverse now, and it's beauty personified.

Back even five or 10 years ago, it was just about what the best product was, but it's not just "this concealer lasts 24 hours" anymore. That's good, but everyone is now a chemist, product developer, reviewer, and everyone and their grandma has a brand. And that's what people are vying for: to find someone relatable who resonates with them.

Krause: Do you think drama and toxicity has grown with the beauty community?

Starrr: It's all perception and how you deal with it. Sometimes misery does love company, and sometimes it's an escape for people to feel for someone on the other end of the screen who is going through something, whether it's good or bad.

It's a similar thing to makeup. I have a pimple, I want to conceal it. I see someone going through a hard time, I hope they overcome it. That's why I think drama is so popular. We're such a solution-based genre on the internet where we put lashes on and look beautiful. I put a wig on my bald head, and I feel fierce. I tan my skin, and I have that glow. And that's what people want.

Krause: What do you want people to know about working in the beauty industry as an influencer and brand owner?

Starrr: I don't sleep — I barely get a couple hours. I have my parents on the East Coast, and they're my alarm clock. It's not easy. I remember my dad would catch me still editing on the computer at 6 a.m. or 7 a.m. in 2014 and 2015, and he would say, "What are you doing?" It would be me and Manny MUA editing together because he was three hours behind. We would FaceTime and edit together, and here we are as owners of our own brands today.

It's a very hard job because no one tells you what to do. It's all on you. But at the end of the day, I f---ing love it. I love what I do, and if I can open the doors for more people to see that and provide opportunities for them, that means the most to me.

• Read more:
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• Rosie Huntington-Whiteley says having her makeup done for years as a model inspired her to start a show about beauty
• I tried a makeup-removing spray created by YouTuber Patrick Starrr, and it made my eyeliner disappear with one swipe
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